Portsmouth South MP Stephen Morgan will be hosting a special event next month with Lord Frank Judd of Portsea, Labour Peer and former Member of Parliament for Portsmouth West and North constituencies.

The special public eventon November 11, will be held at Canoe Lake Tennis Pavilionbetween 4 and 6pmand will be an informal ‘audience with’, an open discussion and question and answer session.

Lord Frank Judd served as MP for Portsmouth West and North in the 1960s and 70s, served as a minister under Callaghan and Wilson, including Junior Minister for the Royal Navy, and entered the Lords in 1991.

Lord Frank Judd said:

“Having served as an MP in Portsmouth during the 1960s and 70s it is a city I hold fond memories of.

“I know Stephen well and fully supported his campaign to become the first Labour MP in Portsmouth South. He is committed to representing the great city that he was born bred in and I am delighted that he has invited me back on what is a special day in history.

“I look forward to sharing my memories, thoughts and observations on a range of issues and hearing those of the people of Portsmouth.”

Portsmouth is a city that he has a lot of history with, he worked closely with the Royal Navy when he was Junior Minister and did some amazing work as Minister for Overseas Development so there’s lots we can learn from him.

“Frank endorsed my General Election campaign last year and I’d like to show my thanks for that support by inviting him back to Portsmouth this special event.”

MP for Portsmouth South, Stephen Morgan, has pledged his support for the Long Live the Local Campaign to help pubs in Portsmouth remain open in what are difficult times for small business.

Stephen is calling on the Government to cut beer tax at the budget. With £1 in every £3 spent in UK pubs going to the taxman, British drinkers now pay 40% of all beer tax across the EU, but only drink 12% of the beer.

Breweries and pubs support 2124 jobs in Portsmouth and contribute £44.6 million to the local economy.

Commenting on the campaign, Stephen Morgan MP said:

“Pubs are at the heart of communities in Portsmouth, but with three British pubs closing their doors for good every day the Government needs to cut beer tax to keep them open.

With my ‘pint with your MP’ sessions bringing politics to the local, it’s clear to me how central pubs are to tackling loneliness and connecting our communities.

Stephen Morgan and Gordon Marsden at University of Portsmouth to visit VR Lab and meet with local students

Today (11 October 2018) Portsmouth South MP, Stephen Morgan, and Labour’s Shadow Further Education and Skills Minister, Gordon Marsden, visited the University of Portsmouth and met with staff and students in the city.

The pair toured the Faculty of Creative and Cultural Industries where they were shown the cutting edge technology in use at the University’s Virtual Reality Lab. They also visited the Faculty’s School of Architecture for a presentation.

TheFaculty of Creative and Cultural Industries comprises courses, research, enterprise and innovation activities concerned with the practice, analysis and criticism of the creative industries.

Gordon and Stephen then headed for talks with a group of local students to discuss the cost of living and travel for young people, mental health support for students, and widening participation.

Stephen Morgan MP, said:

‘It’s great to see our city’s university at the forefront of such innovative work.

Portsmouth has always been a creative hub, a place for makers and doers, and so I’m pleased to find our institutions continuing in this proud tradition and fostering the next generation of talent.

Portsmouth University makes an estimated contribution £1.1 billion to our economy and provides almost 10,000 local jobs.

It was good to talk with the Shadow Minister about some of the opportunities and challenges our city’s university faces.’

Inner-city Portsmouth church St Luke’s has launched its redevelopment plans with an event hosted by Portsmouth MP Stephen Morgan.

St Luke’s Church wants to use its city centre location to serve those who live and work in the local community more effectively. That includes those who work in the city centre and thousands of students living in newly-built tower blocks nearby.

Worshippers want to open up its building to passers-by on Isambard Brunel Road, creating a brand new entrance and a café on the west side of the existing building – as well as revamping the existing community garden.

The £1.5m project would also involve revamping the interior of the Victorian church and its adjoining church hall, providing better facilities for community groups that already use the building and making it available for others too.

The church is also working with Portsmouth City Council on plans to redevelop the area to the west of the building, with an nearby underpass filled in and landscaping to make the area look more attractive.

It also hopes to employ two people who can work alongside young adults who may need help to take advantage of local employment opportunities.

Portsmouth South MP Stephen Morgan – who is also the local ward councillor – is enthusiastically supporting the plans. He offered to host a launch event for local residents, community groups, councillors and interested parties.

Stephen Morgan MP said:

“It was great to host this event launching these exciting plans for the Church. I’m really excited about the difference this development could make to this special part of our great city.

There has been a lot of re-development recently, and there are many more people living locally, as well as all those who work in the city centre.

Having a place in the heart of Portsmouth that can give them some spiritual support, as well as the chance to relax and unwind in the café or community garden, will be really helpful.

St Luke’s has already done a lot to bring people together – it hosts an annual barbecue at the start of each autumn term to bring together brand new students and local residents. It also runs community fairs and fun days, and hosts all sorts of local community groups.

I’m hoping this development will make it even easier for them to bring local people together.”

The Diocese of Portsmouth has indicated its support for the plans, which will shortly be considered by Portsmouth City Council.

Stephen Morgan, the MP for Portsmouth South, has joined local leaders in opening the city’s fourth and biggest Pride celebration this weekend.

Mr Morgan helped lead the parade, which walked from the Coffee Cup in Eastney, to the Bandstand, where he then took to the stage to make an impassioned speech about the strength of diversity in Portsmouth.

With the aim of Pride being to raise awareness through entertainment, the day involved a host of fun activities. There were stalls from organisations and businesses from across Portsmouth and beyond, including one run by Mr Morgan and his team, who were one of several sponsors of the event. There was also entertainment from bands, musicians and Star of RuPaul’s Drag Race, Alexis Michelle, headlining on the main stage at the Bandstand.

As well as being an event sponsor, Mr Morgan also held a thank you reception at his constituency office in Albert Road for those in the Pride committee and volunteers who gave up their own time to organise and deliver this year’s celebration.

Stephen Morgan MP said:

“Pride truly is the word, I am incredibly proud that Portsmouth has hosted our biggest ever city-wide celebration of LGBTQ people here in Pompey and across the globe. And what a celebration it was.

“The diversity and passion of our city is the key to its strength. If any place knows that love is love, its Portsmouth.

“The team of volunteers behind it all have done our city proud and I’d like to thank them for all of their hard work, alongside their normal day jobs, towards making today the success that it was.”

The Good Company – Portsmouth, a newly registered charity which aims to tackle the growing issue of loneliness and isolation, is being backed by city MP, Stephen Morgan, a long-term advocate for more action to tackle this social problem.

The Member of Parliament for Portsmouth South has been invited, and accepted, to be the new charity’s honorary ‘patron’ it was announced today by the charity.

Good Company-Portsmouth, whose coffee shop ‘Home Coffee’ is based on Albert Road, reaches out to and provides support for members of the community who might be suffering from loneliness.

Last year, Good Company opened the doors to its coffee shops in Southsea and Cosham to offer free coffee and companionship to those who would otherwise be alone on Christmas Day. They will be doing the same this year, keeping tills closed and encouraging anyone feeling lonely over the festive period to come pop in.

Through its coffee shop, dedicated staff, and community network, the charity seeks to tackle a growing crisis in our city and across the country – that of loneliness and isolation.

A study by The Co-op and the British Red Cross reveals over 9 million people in the UK across all adult ages – more than the population of London – are either always or often lonely. Across Portsmouth and our nation a number of groups and charities are doing their bit to tackle the issue.

Stephen Morgan MP, said:

“I was really honoured to be approached by the team at Good Company to become patron of this brilliant new charity. As my colleague Rachel Reeves MP said just yesterday, loneliness truly is one of the great evils of our society today.

I’ve seen first-hand the power of what Good Company is doing in connecting and supporting socially and economically isolated people in our great city. Seeing how they are harnessing the talents and generosity of our community gives me great hope for the wider challenges we face in tackling loneliness.

I look forward supporting the team and this important cause as they go from strength to strength. Good Company is exactly the kind of project that makes me so proud to represent Portsmouth”.

A spokesperson for the Good Company – Portsmouth, added:

“We can’t thank Stephen enough for this honour and all his support. This will truly help us reach more people this Christmas and throughout the year”.

A patron is someone who agrees to lend their name to an organisation as a way of supporting its cause. To find out more about the Good Company – Portsmouth, and to get involved, visit: www.facebook.com/goodcompanyportsmouth